ST. MATTHEW'S ORGAN RECITAE.

Evening Star, Issue 5610, 2 March 1881, Page 1

ST. MATTHEW'S ORGAN RECITAE.

TO THE HDITOB.

Sin, —I ahould have thought that the Ie«li public attention had been drawn to tha vl organ recital" at S«. Matthew's Cfearob and the circumttaioes connected therewith, the better it bad been for all oonc&rned ; but as Mr KaUey steps forward and hoick up for general admiration and approval the melhods then employed to raise money, I /«el ft odlj a daty, m a member of the Church, ol England, to avow the humiliation and ghame I fesl at seeing snoh doubtful morality sanctioned by one on behsdf of my Church, aud to enter at least one proteßt agaiast it. As it is generally known that an undertaking wu given to the highest authority that ticketa for admission to the •boron should not be sold, Mr Kelsey, in ordar to remove a stra»ge " misapprehenaioa " thero has been on the subject, begins with the Msertioa that "Ho tickets ware i»ld," and proceeds to defend this statement by explaining that "those subscribing towards the fund in adva*ce obtained tickets whioh provided them with a seat in the front part of the church." Similarly, of oourae, no tiokete were sold by Mr Kelaey for Mr Prootor'a lecture, only "those subscribing (at Mr Keleey's) towards the fund (for paying Mr Proctor) in advance obtained tickets which provided them with a a*at in the front part" of the hall. I can hardly agree with Mr Keleey that "the advantage of this arrangement is apparent," especially when uaed in connection with a Church. On the ather hand I consider that such equivocation, to use no stronger and perhaps more approptiaie term, ia surely utterly unworthy of a representative cf a rdigkue body, and should be repudiated at .-ace. For my»elf, I regret ad.2o exceedingly the pain? Ukf n by 'she authorise-; of the Caurch to ucace.%l the tru? natv.re if tho proesedings Iv [prh g t\:o name "musical service' to v,Li« ws», in ihe opi*J n. f all, ncihiag but r, cr,ncei.-», &ad was correctly desoribed in jour reLioti as an "»utertr.inmeiit." The imrochic'.icu >.f a Lw piayers into the middle of 1. he pinaramm.', duubJcea to throw a color of repp.oif.billty ever *hs whole, must have seemed inccrgruau3 to moat. It has hitherto brcn uriiverdAjJy consi*L-??d that our churches th:,uld bo reserved for purpose cf prayer au'i praisa.

I I'cr one cannot believe tb-.t rrmch blessing Trill rs«t upon rncrivy obtained in tuch questionable methods, or that (here is any I'. l ;* truth now lh«:i tlif.ro ussd '.-o be in the nuxira that " hones iy is the best policy." It is viy hope that onr Church vili be spared for the future the rep&titicn of proceedings lisle creditable to any ooncerned, and which have caused much pfcin to many besides DIACOKUS AFGLICAStS, Duncdin, March 2,